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Dayton plus 15: A continuing peace

Holbrooke discusses the Dayton Accords with former Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic. |
AP Photo
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The accords weren’t perfect. But they ended the killings and gave the two sides a chance to discuss a framework for peace. All sides continue to build on that framework.

Though there is still much progress to be made before the region is fully integrated into Europe, we are closer than ever before. The time is ripe for economic investment in the Balkans. The young people who came of age as the Dayton Accords were signed have now carried those lessons forward into their own service and leadership. And Washington remains committed to helping the people of Balkans fully realize the accords’ promise.

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But more than just setting the stage for peace, the Dayton Accords can serve as a model for how to respond to other conflicts today. They give us hope that divisions between ethnicities, religions and regions can heal when given the support, resources and, most important, the time to see the benefits of peace extended to all.
The accords prove that U.S. leadership is as vital to the stability and security of our world as it was back in the mid-20th century. Perhaps most important, the Dayton Accords serve as a proud reminder that doing what’s right will always be in the strategic interest of not only the United States -- but the future of our world.

Gen. Wesley Clark served as the supreme allied commander, Europe, of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. He is now a senior fellow at the University of California, Los Angles, Burkle Center for International Relations.

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He dies one day prior to the anniversary signing of the Dayton accords.

US Diplomat Richard Holbrooke Dies at 69 Richard Holbrooke, a distinguished US diplomat who helped broker peace in Bosnia, has died at the age of 69. Holbrooke served as a diplomat for nearly 50 years, from the wars in Vietnam to Afghanistan. http://www.newslook.com/videos...